Balthasar Atherton
Balthasar Fitzroy Atherton is the Herbology Profesor and Head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He began teaching in the fall of 2008. Early Life Balthasar is the oldest son of Addison and Beauregard Atherton, both of whom are muggle. He was born on July 8, 1975. He grew up in the muggle world of acedmics. Both of his parents are full-time professors and lecturers at Oxford University. Balthasar, often called Sar by his friends, is not an only child. He has a younger brother called Archibald. Both boys were bred to be acedmics, and encouraged in their particular interests. Balthasar was much more interested science. He viewed the world around him as something that he didn't just want to live in - he wanted to understand it. Biology, Chemistry, Botony. All of it fascinated him. Of course, he was too young to really put it all into words, but his parents encouraged any curiosity in such facets of life. He was seven years old when he first showed signs of magic, and his parents had no idea how to explain what they saw. The strange things that happened around him were a mystery until he recieved his letter from Hogwarts. His parents weren't sure whether or not they should send him, but in the end it was decided that he should go. Balthasar was excited, but nervous and unsure all the same. Magic didn't fit into the world that he knew, and it was a challenge to figure out how to make it fit. Hogwarts Years It was 1986 when Baltasar began Hogwarts, and the world was much different. Still, from the very start, Balthasar did not fit in. Not just because he was muggleborn and completely ignorant to everything all the wizarding kids were excited over. He was also a bit of a nerd, which didn't seem to really foster a whole lot of friends. He kept hearing stories about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but since he had no experience or understanding of just how bad the wizarding world was then Balthasar didn't really understand the fear that the dark wizard inspired. He was not very popular. In fact, he was often made fun of by his peers. If it wasn't his nose, it was his books, or comments about his large nose always in a book. Balthasar had his friends though, and they were what really mattered. He was a bit of a weird kid. A bit shyer than most of his Gryffindor peers, and oddly interested in plants and Herbology. A lot of them had no idea what any of his muggle science books were talking about, but just because he was in a wizarding school, didn't mean he didn't want to keep up with his muggle education too. It was what he'd grown up on. During this summers, he asked his parents to give him lessons. Post-Hogwarts / College Years Balthasar had an interesting perspective on the world by the time he graduated, but he had missed out on so many experiences. He'd never had a girlfriend, and he'd never even been invited to a party, or asked on a date. After he finished Hogwarts, Balthasar went on to go to the very school that his parents taught at, Oxford. It was a great experience for him, and it didn't seem hard to adjust to the muggle lifestyle. Especially considering he had lived it still for every summer since he had started Hogwarts. He didn't neglect his magic though, especially Herbology. He focused on Botany in school, and in his private studies he mixed the two. It was during his time at Oxford that the final battle with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named took place. He was 23 at the time, and he left Oxford and followed his little brother to Hogwarts. Balthasar might not have gotten involved if he wasn't worried that Archibald was going to get himself killed. In the end, he fought for the freedom of the wizarding world. So many were lost that day. Sar tries not to think about it very often. During his 2nd year in school, he met a girl. Not just any girl. A girl who actually liked him, and even found him funny. She was a sweet muggle girl who had a mind like he could have never imagined existed. Her name was Mariel, and she became his world - outside of studying and working, of course. They dated all through college, and never seemed to miss a beat. Post-Graduate Balthasar graduated from Oxford and asked Mariel to marry him. What would you know? She said yes! He had visions of the white picket fence, finding a good normal job, and having kids. They'd be just as clever as their mum and dad and they'd have the perfect life. Well. Stop right there. None of that happened. Mariel discovered he was a wizard, and freaked out. It broke his heart when he had to modify her memory to forget the magic...but still remember that she wanted to leave him. Sar couldn't marry her if she couldn't one day accept who he was. It was what she wanted...and he wasn't going to alter her memory and force her to be with him. He was devastated. Starting life all over again, alone this time. He got a job in London, as a botanist, doing research for a pharmaceutical company. It paid pretty well, and he couldn't complain. He got to be in a lab all day, learning new things. For the most part, his life was pretty boring to the average person. He went to work, went home, slept, worked from home, and then went back to work. All of his friends were from the muggle world. But, there were those few connections he'd made at Hogwarts that always seemed to haunt him. He'd visit Diagon Alley and catch up, or even purchase some things. While his life was lived predominantly as a muggle - he still enjoyed those certain wizarding perks. Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans, for one. And of course - the joy of Herbology. It was one thing he was always keeping up with, no matter how much he immersed himself into the muggle world. Returning to Hogwarts In the early summer of 2008, Balthasar was contacted about the post of Herbology Professor at Hogwarts. Considering he had been living his life in the muggle world for so long and nothing extraordinary had happened to him, he figured...why not? Herbology was a passion for him, and he was excited about putting his mind towards teaching the younger generation of witches and wizards. Dark things were beginning to happen in the wizarding world, and Sar was not ignorant to what had been going on at Hogwarts. Hogwarts needed good teachers, and if he could be one of them - he'd happily sacrifice for the next generation. If something threatens the school, he's not afraid to throw his weight in and protect it to the end. Sar may look a bit scrawny and unassuming, but he's damn good with his wand, he's very clever, and he's quick. After taking the job, he relocated to Hogwarts just before the term began. It was the first time he had returned since he left it all those years ago. It seemed proper, really, that Hogwarts was what was going to bring him back into the wizarding world. So far, only the Daily Prophet and occasional visits to Diagon Alley had done that. Now, he had a chance to reconnect...to show that you didn't have to be a 'pureblood' to be useful at magic, and be able to do good in the world. Of course...what Balthasar doesn't really get is that DE's don't really think about how much 'good' a person can do in the world. Optimism and love will always be his downfalls.